Up to now, postcards have been winging their way to you from some location that inspires me to "write." But now that investment data is hurtled at you from every possible outlet, it's impossible to get away from Wall Street. The Street is now a state of mind, not a statement of location. So, this post card is from a Wall Street state of mind. Following that argument, I could have indicated that this is a postcard from anywhere, or from cyberspace or from the conference room whose meeting has me currently imprisoned, but any of those titles would have made you even less likely to read the prolix I am about to download here. Wall Street is in the middle of an extended hissy-fit that started, ironically enough, on labor day. Today's little drama is the market's reaction to Greenspan's reaction to the market. Monday, the market went up a bunch because it thought the Fed would finally see the economy was slowing down and indicate they might lower interest rates. Tuesday, the market went down a bunch because the Fed indicated the economy was slowing down and they might lower interest rates. Today, they market went down because of the pain from the the market going down yesterday, which seems logical enough a conclusion for the highly-paid commentators. All this is going on while millions of eyeballs are glued to moving ticker-tapes on TV, laptops, and billboards. Lots of wracked nerves contemplating what might happen if the market were nerve- wracked. I have a humble suggestion: just say no, don't worry--be happy, and don't ask--don't tell. Just Say No to the impulse to sell. The only time you can actually lose is when you sell. Be patient: hold on for years if you have to, but stick to your guns. Set a target price that gives you the return you want, and sell on the way **up**, not on the way down. The only sales you regret are the ones you make too early. Don't Worry -- Be Happy. Know that every stock will have its day in the sun, so your job is to look for a sunny day. (If you bought on margin, you deserve what you got. The mistake wasn't the stock, it was buying with a sword of Damocles hanging over your portfolio. Margin buying may be called leverage, but the only thing it feels like is stress multiplication.) Relax and get on with your life. Don't Ask -- Don't Tell. Turn off your computer's ticker tape. Do not look in the papers. Change the channel when the business reports start whining. Simply do not pay attention to daily or even weekly swings: they are indicative of nothing but noise, oversized bonus checks, and possible cocaine usage. Consider cocktail party conversations about investor gyrations to be in bad taste. Why should you ignore the investment sages this way? Because it's a rigged game that you and I can win only if we are incredibly tenacious. The only people who can get rich quick are the guys running the investment houses--not the investors. Their combined bonuses this year are at an all-time high, something like $12 BILLION. The way you win against the Wall Street wise-guys is riding through their jerking-around of valuations, waiting for the next peak that can never be predicted but is always too far off for the "pros." For those of us out in the hinterland, the secret is: "get rich slow."